Probe into roof crash but no caring hand for workers

Gurgaon: Six labourers who were injured after a scaffolding came crushing down on them at a sports facilitation centre at Nehru Stadium on Tuesday said they had not been adequately compensated and none from the government had come to see them.
"The contractor got scared. So, he gave each one of us some milk and ration. This has been done to keep us quiet. We are not beggars. All of us earn for a living. The contractor doesn't consider our lives worth anything. The authorities should at least compensate us for the injuries," said Bhagwat, an 18 year-old labourer. The administration has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Santosh, another labourer, claimed the accident could have been planned.

"I came to Gurgaon with my family to work as a labourer. I get Rs 500 every day. I believe someone might have pulled the plank or loosened the nuts of the scaffolding. I was working right below it. The scaffolding came crashing down on my head," said Santosh, 38.

The labourers working on the project skipped work on Wednesday. Prema Lal, 33, alleged the labourers had not been given any safety gear. "We are risking our lives to make this sports centre."

"No one even came to see us. We are labourers because of our circumstances, it's not something we became by choice," said Kamlesh, 33.

The facilitation centre is being built for athletes to practise indoors. It is supposed to have an indoor hall and a gym. The sports authorities are hopeful the centre will come up in the next four months.

Paras Ram, the district sports officer, said: "The sports facilitation centre is being built by the PWD. It was our officials who took the labourers to the hospital."

Vinay Pratap Singh, the deputy commissioner, said: "At any such construction site, we have a wing called industrial safety and health, which is part of the labour department. Any compensation or fine on the contractor is to be done by the labour department. I have asked for an inquiry."